This invention relates to a modular display system for a casket selection or display room.
Among the funeral homes in the United States, the displaying of caskets is usually not thoroughly thought out. Typically, fifteen to twenty caskets are in a room and the environment surrounding the caskets is not completely and aesthetically designed to bring out all of the important features of the caskets.
The objective of the present invention has been to provide an improved display structure for supporting the caskets to be viewed, the display structure admitting of several configurations which, when properly disposed in a room, increase the number of caskets that can be displayed.
Another objective of the invention has been to improve the aesthetic environment in which the caskets are displayed.
Another objective of the invention has been to improve the profitability to the funeral director of his casket sales.
These objectives of the present invention are attained by providing a modular casket display structure which admits of multiple configurations and which can be installed very rapidly. More specifically, the invention includes back wall and side or wing walls removably-joined together so as to permit alcoves to be created and spaced around a display room. The invention contemplates a double-tiered display rack containing two vertically-spaced caskets disposed in each alcove. Each alcove is provided with tasteful signage which is easily mounted on the back wall to designate the category of casket and the casket per se as tastefully as possible. A modular soffit is mountable with four screws to the upper front corners of the wing walls. Each soffit contains a track light for creatively illuminating the caskets being displayed.
A variegated finish on all the surfaces of the alcove within which the caskets are displayed is of special, relatively neutral color, yet with pigmentation designed to bring up the colors of any casket displayed within the alcove.
The modular construction is not only suitable for forming alcoves lining the perimeter of walls of the display room, but it is also suitable for creating center-of-the-room displays of various configurations, thereby adding to the utilization of space within the display room.
Using the invention, a room that even seemed crowded when displaying fifteen to twenty caskets can be converted to a room displaying a minimum of twenty-seven to thirty caskets. The invention admits of the double stacking of the caskets while at the same time having them easily accessible, properly illuminated, and backed with a finish that is tastefully and aesthetically suitable for the conditions of selecting a casket. By providing a wider selection of caskets through proper utilization of the space provided by the present invention, the display room will be more profitable for the funeral director, for the parties selecting their caskets are more likely to find the caskets that suit them.
The invention permits the improved selection room to be installed in three to five days as contrasted to the several weeks that would be required if the room were built from scratch or "stick built." This fact, too, enhances the profitability to the funeral director for the funeral home will not be undesirable and adversely affected for an extended period of time by clutter and the noise of construction if the present invention is employed. Strikingly, the new improved display room can be installed almost over the weekend.
Another advantage of the modular construction is that it can be leased to the funeral director by the casket supplier with conventional leasing terms that permit the funeral director to own the structure at the end of the lease period while safeguarding the lessor permitting it to repossess the display elements if necessary. The improved profitability to the funeral director is such that lease payments are very likely to be able to be made out of the increased profitability that arises out of the display of the greater assortment of caskets along with the display in the most aesthetically pleasing environment.